“There was a positive side to not trying at something: you could always pretend that your life would have been different if you had.” IfsTryingHas BeensDifferentSides Book:GraceLand: A Novel Source: GraceLand: A Novel
“Sometimes we say we want an end to hate or racism or sexism. But we all participate in keeping these structures alive. If everyone decided to relinquish the past what would happen to people who feel that there hasn't been proper atonement made to them? And what happens to the person who feels that the constant atonement is their identity?” PeopleIfsWantFeelsPersonsMadeEndsSometimesHappensPastHateAliveIdentityRacismDecidedStructureConstantSexismAtonement Author:Chris Abani
“The Internet is really our meeting place. We have this amazing listserv. Every time I log onto it I feel a sense of pride, because if you log on and say, "Oh I was just in San Diego and I was in a park and I saw a lion," the flurry of replies on average is just like--wow! All these existential questions about what it means to be an African, and never having seen a lion at home, but having seen a lion here. Everything you say turns into this real philosophical debate--it's incredible in so many ways. And it's an invigorating place to be.” IfsWayFeelsMeanRealHomeTurnsSawsPrideInternetPhilosophicalMeetingsIncrediblesAverageDebateParksLionsWowExistentialInvigoratingSan Diego Author:Chris Abani
“If I dont get at least one e-mail every ten minutes, I feel unloved. Even junk mail makes me feel seen. Sad, I know. Sigh.” IfsKnowsFeelsMinutesTenMailSighJunkUnlovedJunk Mail Author:Chris Abani
“The greatest thing about form and convention is that it saves you from having to reinvent the wheel. Now, whether you mount the wheel to a horse carriage or a Formula One racing car, make it plain or give it spinning rims, those are all craft decisions. But the fact of the wheel remains: it will turn if you set it down. That's what I mean about the beauty of the gifts genre can offer.” IfsGivingMeanFactsFormTurnsDecisionCarOffersHorseRemainsCraftsGenreWheelsFormulasRacingConventionsSpinningCarriagesRace CarRimsFormula One Author:Chris Abani
“If there was no risk, it wouldn't be art. It wouldn't be worth making. There is risk even in a fairy tale. Fiction is closest to pure narrative, and pure narrative is simply the logic we try to impose on an ever-changing reality.” IfsTryingArtRealityFictionRiskPureLogicTalesNarrativeFairyFairy TaleClosestRisk ItChanging Reality Author:Chris Abani
“The truth is that History, with its imposing capital H, is simply the amalgamation of many quotidian lives lived in very ordinary ways. History is always personal. If you read Holocaust survivor or American slavery survivor narratives, you realize all too well that these great Historical moments were personal to someone at some time.” IfsWayWellsMomentsRealizingTruth IsOrdinarySlaveryHistoricalNarrativeSurvivorHolocaustImposingAmerican SlaveryHolocaust SurvivorAmalgamationGreat Historical Author:Chris Abani
“If you encounter a human shadow burned permanently into the concrete in Hiroshima, you realize that this is the trace of a very ordinary person now elevated into the emblematic. Time, shame, complicity, or discomfort are the only things that make us pretend History is impersonal or far removed from the power and consequences of our every lived moment.” IfsHumansPersonsMomentsRealizingOrdinaryShadowConsequenceShameEncountersConcreteBurnedDiscomfortHiroshimaComplicityOrdinary Person Author:Chris Abani
“If you want to know about Africa, read our literature - and not just 'Things Fall Apart,' because that would be like saying, 'I've read 'Gone with the Wind' and so I know everything about America.'” IfsKnowsWantInspirationWould BeAmericaMotivationFallLiteratureGoneWindFalling Apart Author:Chris Abani
